Match Details
- Fixture: Aryna Sabalenka vs Elise Mertens
- Date: July 6, 2025
- Tournament: Wimbledon 2025
- Round: Round of 16
- Venue: London, Great Britain
- Category: Grand Slam
- Surface: Outdoor grass
- Live telecast: Tennis Channel and ESPN (USA), BBC, TNT Sports, Discovery+ (UK), TSN, and RDS (Canada)
Aryna Sabalenka vs Elise Mertens Preview
Aryna Sabalenka arrives in this match riding strong momentum at the All England Club. The world No. 1 stormed through her first two rounds with a dominant form, defeating Carson Branstine 6‑1, 7‑5 and Marie Bouzkova 7‑6, 6‑4. She faced Emma Raducanu in the third round, moving past the British favorite in tight sets, 7‑6(6), 6‑4.
That win marked Sabalenka’s 11th consecutive Round of 16 appearance at Slams, a streak not seen since Serena Williams. She’s already claimed three titles this season, including high‑profile WTA 1000 wins in Miami and Madrid, and also reached finals in Brisbane, Indian Wells, Stuttgart, and Rome.
Elise Mertens, on the other hand, has quietly built impressive grass‑court form to reach the same stage. This came after a clean run in s‑Hertogenbosch, where she saved an astounding 11 match points in the semifinals en route to her first grass title at the Libéma Open.
Mertens continued in London with a commanding 6‑1, 7‑6(4) win over Elina Svitolina in the third round.
The Belgian player’s season has already delivered two WTA singles crowns: the Libéma Open and Singapore Open, plus finals appearances at Hobart and Singapore earlier in the year. She enters tonight’s match ranked No. 23, riding a 29‑12 win‑loss season record with a strong 8‑1 grass tally.
Aryna Sabalenka vs Elise Mertens Head-to-Head
Sabalenka and Mertens have faced off a total of 12 times on the WTA Tour, with Sabalenka holding a decisive 10–2 lead. Their most recent match occurred in the third round of the Madrid Open, where Sabalenka emerged victorious in a tightly contested three-setter, 3‑6, 6‑2, 6‑1, extending her winning streak over Mertens to nine straight matches.
Aryna Sabalenka vs Elise Mertens Prediction
Sabalenka enters this match as the grass-court favorite, backing her game up with commendable serve and aggressive baseline play. She holds an impressive career win rate of about 63.8% (37 wins from 58 matches) and has reached the Berlin semifinals this season.
Her serve has been especially lethal, with a balanced average of 3.28 aces per match and a first-serve percentage of nearly 64%. She has also won a stellar 83% of those first-serve points at Wimbledon so far. Sabalenka’s power-packed style is one of the fastest and most aggressive on tour, with serves topping 118 miles per hour.
Mertens, on the other hand, has an effective game built around court craft, slice, and defensive solidity. She won her first grass title at ‘s‑Hertogenbosch, saving an extraordinary 11 match points in the semifinal on her way to the trophy.
Besides her notable success on hard courts, Mertens recently recorded three successive wins at Wimbledon after a strong presence in pre‑Grand Slam grass events. She fired 133 aces, had a 57.5% first-serve percentage, and won a noteworthy 68% of those first-serve points.
Prediction: Sabalenka to win in straight-sets